hens

dicky82

can anyone advise me on this??
i have a large open garden, if i buy a coop and some hens am i going to spend my nights chasing them round to lock them up?
i know people have free range hens and lock them up at night, but how will new hen know to go into a new coop. . .?:rolleyes:

i know i could go down the road of pening them in but would rather just have them pecking round the place. thanks in advance. . .

whelan1

we had ours in the coop for a few days then let them out to roam they know where to go themselves never once had to chase after them

BennyLava

once they know where their feed is and where it's safe to sleep, you should have no bother letting them out,

you'd be amazed some days how early they will go to roost

louis346789

We have twenty. same results no problems. they go to the coop.
One additional question.
We now have 7 roosters that we need to sell / give away. any suggestons

haybob

As the days get longer the hens will stay out longer but once they have some where to root they will head for it at night, the auld fella has his dog trained to round up the hens as the sun goes down.

As for the cocks, what age are they, are they too old for the pot

louis346789 wrote: »

We have twenty. same results no problems. they go to the coop.
One additional question.
We now have 7 roosters that we need to sell / give away. any suggestons

louis346789

about 20 weeks. perfect for the pot but they are now 'pets' with our two boys so parting with them alive is our only option.

Indubitable

louis346789 wrote: »

We have twenty. same results no problems. they go to the coop.
One additional question.
We now have 7 roosters that we need to sell / give away. any suggestons

YUMMY roast chicken for dinner for a whole week!

Indubitable

louis346789 wrote: »

about 20 weeks. perfect for the pot but they are now 'pets' with our two boys so parting with them alive is our only option.

What they don't know won't hurt them.....

haybob

You won't ever eat chicken like that from a butcher or a supermarket, I'd be one of them people that thinks kids should be educated about where their grub comes from but I have funny feeling they might be a bit young

louis346789 wrote: »

about 20 weeks. perfect for the pot but they are now 'pets' with our two boys so parting with them alive is our only option.

dicky82

thanks for the responces,
just to double check, should i leave them locked in the coop (its a secure roosting nest box jobby) for the first two days and then let them out?:rolleyes:

Ford4000

Be sure if you get rid of them to sneakily keep one for dinner, u will then appreciate proper food like yrs gone by, dont get me wrong im not 60yrs old only 26 but when i was growing up i remember eatin home grown hens and boy is there some difference!!

haybob

To Dicky
I'd say open the door but they may not appear out for a day or two.

To Ford 4000,
I'm not a lot older than yourself and was reared up eating mostly our own chicken, geese and turkeys. Proper boiled eggs you cant beat em

Ford4000 wrote: »

Be sure if you get rid of them to sneakily keep one for dinner, u will then appreciate proper food like yrs gone by, dont get me wrong im not 60yrs old only 26 but when i was growing up i remember eatin home grown hens and boy is there some difference!!

No6

louis346789 wrote: »

We have twenty. same results no problems. they go to the coop.
One additional question.
We now have 7 roosters that we need to sell / give away. any suggestons

Where are you I'd take one or two and keep them alive!!:D

Sam Kade

Ford4000 wrote: »

Be sure if you get rid of them to sneakily keep one for dinner, u will then appreciate proper food like yrs gone by, dont get me wrong im not 60yrs old only 26 but when i was growing up i remember eatin home grown hens and boy is there some difference!!

We bought a chicken last week, there would be more meat on a crow. Nothing like the broilers my mother used to raise back in the seventies.

Graces7

If they are your children's pets, please don't let them eat them unknowingly.

By all means educate and then eat.

As a small child my father tricked me into eatling my pet rabbit. I found out in my 20s and was literally sick for days. Still hurts to remember. He had one eye and I called him Popeye and loved him dearly..( no smiley for tears?)

Pets mean so much to children. As pets, not as food; they need to learn that difference but gently so.

And no, there is not much meat on a cockerel, but yes very tasty indeed.

kowloon

I always keep them in for a few days to t to their new home. After that they'll go in by themselves. Watch out for any fox threat, you could lose them in one go.

theparish

I am a novice chicken farmer with a flock of 3:pac:.I got 3 hybrids a month ago,and left them out the day after I got them.They then did there own exploring for the day and returned to the coop as the light fell.They even put my dog in his place after a couple of days now the dog thinks he is a chicken.No eggs yet just alot of ****e:pac: